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Galaxies Galore

An estimated 10,000 galaxies are revealed in humankind's deepest portrait of the visible universe ever. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI) and the HUDF Team

Astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute today unveiled the deepest portrait of the visible universe ever achieved by humankind. Called the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF), the million-second-long exposure reveals the first galaxies to emerge from the so-called "dark ages," the time shortly after the big bang when the first stars reheated the cold, dark universe. The new image should offer new insights into what types of objects reheated the universe long ago.